P had originally planned to ride with me for this low key sportive the next day, but sore knees meant he was staying off his bike. As I couldn’t climb because of my foot/toe pain, I decided to still ride it. Last time I rode anything like this was the ManchesTour during the Commonwealth Games in Manchester, and that was a bigger event. It took me a while to get myself going, but I registered early to stop myself from chickening out.
People were being set off at 2 minute intervals and there was a drive to get teams of 4, so there were only a few of us riding on our own. The route took us from Rosthwaite, down the valley towards Grange, along the side of Catbells and round to Stair, then Braithwaite, over Whinlatter, through Lorton and up Buttermere to Honister Pass, down to Rosthwaite, back along the same route to Stair, but then a left turn instead of a right and up and over Newlands, along Buttermere again over Honister again and finish in Rosthwaite.
It was a fantastic route and I really enjoyed it. I didn’t attack it but rode round keeping the tempo steady, not letting myself slow down to a dawdle. It was amazing to see some of the Honsiter 92 and Keswick Bikes teams fly past on the hills. I hadn’t ridden any of these passes from these sides so it was a little daunting. The first time up Honister hurt more than the second time, Newlands has a nasty kick near the top which would have been good to know about!, and the descent off Honsiter to Borrowdale can heat your rims up if you take it too cautiously!!
The fastest time registered was just over 2 hours. I wanted to finish in under 3 ½ hours and came in in 3:27, so was happy with that, picking up fastest lady.
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